Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-10-16
COULDN'T COUPLE
A Project to Consolidate the Two Street Car
Companies Which Failed.
CONFERENCES RESULT In NOTHING.
The Propositions Which, According to Cur
rent RumOr, Were Submitted.
THE COURSE NOW TO BE TAKEN.

10 consolidate the Citizens Street Railway
COMPANY and the Wheeling Electrical
Company into one corporation which
sbould have control of all the street car
traffic of the city and our southern suburb,
Benwood, and thus do away with that
competition which it was fondly imagined
we should have for an indefinite time in
the future, even though the said competi-
ton should be death to either one or both
of the competing lines. This attempt is
fact; ana it is also fact that the negotia-
tions are OF, the two parties to the trans
action being unable to reach conclusion
which would be satisfactory all around.
There were two meetings held by the
representatives OF the companies above
named during the past week. The first
one was on Thursday evening, in the
Directors room OF the Dollar Savings
Bank. At this meeting there were present
on behalf of the Wheeling Electrical Com
pany Messrs. John NJ. Sweeney, J. A.
Miller, A. c. Egerter, John G. Hoffman,
Jr., and w. P. Hubbard, while the Citizens
Railway Company was represented by
President Geo. B. Caldwell, Alfred Cald-
we'll, A. w. Campbell and r. S. Irvine.
This meeting MAS the result of an intima-
ton from the Electrical Company that the
interests of both corporations might be
subseryed by consolidation, and as the
Citizens Company people were not averse
to such an arrangement providing the
terms would be advantageous, the repre-
sentatives Of the two organizations assem-
bled TO talk over the project.
At this meeting nothing very definite
resulted, save that it became apparent that
both sides were very wary and each had no
objection to gaining the advantage over the
other. There was good deal OF ground
covered in the two hours that the gentle
man were assembled in the Bank building,
and a good many side issues were interject-
ed. The Electrical Company laid much
stress upon the valuable franchise which
they had been granted by the City Council,
and pointed out that they had the best ia
cihties for getting into BeLwOod, and con-
seuuent!y the best chance at getting the
traffic from Bellaire, something which both
corporations are anxious to secure. In re-
turn the representatives of the Citizens
Company urged the value of their present
plant, and the ease with which their plant
could be transformed into an electrical
road, where it would be ON a footing with
the new concern-when the latter should be
put into running order This discussion
was entirely amicable, there being, as we
have shown, a real desire on each side to
bring about consolidation.
Finally, as the REGISTER is informed,
the Wheeling Company made PROPOSE
to this effect: The new road to go on and
complete its plant and the Citizens Com
pany, at the same time, to put its plant III
shape TO use the new motive power. Then
the two plants to be turned over to dis
interested Board of Arbitrators, which
should make a valuation of them,
and the new consolidated corporation to be
formed upon the basis OF the report thus
made
This suggestion did not meet with the
approval OF the Street Railway Company,
but after a good deal OF desultory talk, II
WAS agreed that the matter should be LETT
in abeyance for few days, in order to
think over it
Last evening the conference again assem-
bled, this time in the law office OF W. +.
Hubbard, on Chapline street. Not all the
gentlemen at the first meeting were pres
ent last evening, but both corporations
were nevertheless fully represented.
The matter was again gone over
at great length, and the end was that the
of the Citizens Company
that they could not accept the
for the reason that 1t would
cut down the present capital
stock of the Company and thus result IN
serious dead loss to that corporation. As
one of the representatives OF the Citizens
Company expressed it, at the same time
We would be putting in oar good, sub
stantial plant against something which
was tar from being as tangible, and we did
not feel like doing it that way"
The Citizens Company, however, sub
mitted counter proposition, which, IN et-
feet, was that the Citizens Company would
issue an additional sum of $4,000 III
bonds, which it would dispose of to the
Electrical Company at par, in return for
which all the rights and franchises OF the
Wheeling Company were to be turned over
TO the existing Company. Then it was sug-
gested, as the story goes, that the new COM
pany would be willing to come in on
basis of an increase of their stock by say
rs per cent this making it equal or nearly
euuRl to the Citizens Railway stock, as at
present. These were in turn rejected, and
as it became apparent that the two parties
could not get together, it was agreed TO
disagree" and the gentlemen separated.
There was much regret expressed on
both sides, last evening, at the result Of
the conference, but both companies eX-
pressed the determination TO 20 on III their
original course and put electricity IN ope-
ration. Representatives OF the Wheeling
Company said last night that while they
thought they had made the iairest sort OF
a proposition, and sincerely regretted that
a basis of consolidation had not been ar
rived at, that they would now so to work
and throw all their energy into getting
their line in operation at the earliest posi-
BILE day. They said that the contract for
ties ior the track had already been award
ed, that the contract for rails was all ready
Tor signature, and that within two weeks
material would be arriving in the city aud
trsrk-laying would be in progress.
Representatives ofthe existing street car
line were equally sorry that the dicker
had missed fire, but said they could not
possibly accept the terms extended TO them,
and would go on and extend and improve
their line in accordance with the plans
formulated soon after the Wheeling Com
pany was brought into Being. We will
thus have competition in the matter Sf street
passenger traffic, after all, and while the
public will probably reap a substantial
benefit from that state of affairs, it will
hardly he conducive TO dividends for the
stockholders OF the two corporations.
REhYyTEIrI SIGHT